Hello readers.  I wrote the message below to my women's prayer and bible study group at home.  I thought it was worth sharing more broadly.

Hello Women of St. Bernadette from Rome!

Courtney, Karen and I are three of 38 pilgrims being led by Monsignor Smith on a pilgrimage to Italy.  Today (Thursday) was a highlight.  We attended the Deaconate Ordination of Pat Lewis, a man who grew up as a member of St. Bernadette.  Thirty-five young men make their vows as a Deacon today in St. Peter's Basilica. God willing, they will all become Priests in May and June next year.  These young men can now preach, bless things (not people), and baptize.  They have also chosen a lifetime dedicated to Christ and therefore a celibate life.

I can't even begin to describe the joy and love of that Mass.  Monsignor Smith was one of 150 or more co-celebrants.  Sitting just a little left and a story above the tomb of St. Peter was an experience that I would wish for all of you! 

This afternoon, I took a walk across Rome.  My goal was to pray a decade of the Rosary in five different churches.  The focus of my walk was to get to Santa Sabina, a church build in the 4th century.  It was there that St. Dominic built his monastery in 1220 and where St. Thomas Aquinas studied and prayed. 

As I walked along the Tiber River, I realized that Basilica S. Bartholomaei in Insula (the church of St. Bartholonew) was on the island.  I walked over the bridge, resisting the call of the souvenir peddlers and the gelato shop, to the church.  It houses the remains of St.  Bartholomew and has two beautiful paintings - one of the visitation and the other the annunciation. I found the Annunciation unusual in that it has both God the Father and the Holy Spirit in it.
There, I paused to pray a decade of the rosary and then lit a candle and prayed for the Women of St. Bernadette.  Specifically, I prayed that through our work, we would strengthen our relationship with Jesus and that we would bring many women to a better understanding of the Catholic faith.

I wish every woman in our group could have experienced this trip.  We celebrated mass in inexpressibly beautiful and sacred surroundings.  We walked in the places that St. Peter and St. Paul were martyred.  We saw the light go off in the papal apartment at 11 one night and saw him in person.  We prayed in front of the crucifix that St. Catherine of Sienna used.  We walked into the tiny, one room chapel used by St. Francis.  And we ate delicious food, laughed until our sides hurt and toasted our new friendships with smooth Roman wine! Our pastor poured himself out in homilies that touched our souls and challenged us to life faithful Catholic lives.
I look forward to seeing all of you soon.

Your sister in Christ,

Mary Ellen

Chapel of St. Catheine

I have just returned from a 10-day pilgrimage to Italy.  I stayed in Sienna, Assisi and Rome.  This journey took me to many places physically and spiritually and I will probably refer to this trip for some time in this blog.  I feel like I have stored up enough spiritual food to think about and ponder for many weeks.

One afternoon in Rome, I walked across the city center to visit Santa Sabina, a church originally built in the 400’s.  St. Dominic built his monastery adjacent to the church in the 1200’s and it is one of the many places where St. Thomas Aquinas studied and wrote.  On a warm, sunny day in Rome, my walk took me through the Pizza Navvona, past the Pantheon – only because I got lost – and then along the Tiber River. 

There was much to see, hear and smell.  On the way to the church, I stopped to visit other churches, take photos and fill my water bottle from the public fountains.  I approached an intersection near the church. Studying my map, I was not sure which way to go.  I decided to go straight and then about ten steps later looked up and remembered that this ancient place of worship was on a hill.  Oh, yes, as I craned my neck upward, I could see it on a very high hill.  I walked back to the intersection and began my journey up the hill.  As I rounded the corner, there was the back of the Roman Forum.  What an unexpected surprise and a fabulous view!

I walked, sometimes slowly and sometimes quickly up the steep hill.   There was a park on my right as and then found the church.  Unlike many Roman churches, the interior is very similar to the way it was when it was built.  I was thrilled to be in the same place that St. Dominic and St. Thomas Aquinas prayed.  After looking around, and lighting a candle for the vocation of a young friend, I knelt down in a chapel to pray a decade of the Rosary.

As I finished, I look up and saw that there were four paintings of a woman that surrounded the painting in the dome. “Who is this?”  I thought.  “No, I don’t think it is the Mary, the Mother of God.”  My mind began to flip though the many paintings and mosaics of saints that I had viewed in the past week.  The woman held up her hands in some of the paintings, and then I recognized the stigmata on her hands.  “Oh yes, she is St. Catherine of Sienna!” I remarked to myself.  (St. Catherine was a Dominican, so it makes sense that she is honored in this church.)

I felt a shiver run up my spine as I gazed at one particular painting.  Saint Catherine is kneeling with her hands held in front of her.  Jesus is on one knee as he offers her the Eucharist.  The painting captures the moment as Jesus offers His sacrifice and she opens her mouth to accept it.  I cannot describe the beauty of the moment and the photo that I took is hard to view as sun was shining on only a portion of the photo.

My mind has often been preoccupied with this painting as I wonder at the beauty of it.  It captures, in a different way what Christ has done for us.  He offered himself on the Cross so that we can have eternal life.  And He feeds us in so many ways: through the Eucharist, in our prayers, in guiding us through our daily life and asking us to be Him to others each day.    

If you want to view an image of the chapel ceiling, you can click on this link http://www.flickr.com/photos/paullew/5668830050/ .  The painting I mention is in the upper right corner of the image. 

It was a remarkable afternoon walk.  Good for my soul, and my body.  This is only a slice of the astounding, marvelous discoveries that I experienced on this trip.  My wish for you, the reader, is that you are able to visit holy, historic places in your lifetime.